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Low rainfall and high temperatures recently have caused some drought stress on local crops this summer. This is not wholly unexpected and there are some strategies crop producers can do to minimize the damage.

Higher nighttime temperatures cause plants to have higher nighttime respiration which in turn uses up sugars produced through daytime photosynthesis. Additionally, higher nighttime temperature speed up the number of heat units accumulated per day and lead to a faster grain filling period and earlier maturity.

Observations across several counties in southeast and south central Iowa show that, despite some recent rain events and high humidity, twospotted spider mites are persisting in both corn and soybean fields across the area.  These insect-like pests can be very difficult to identify, so we’ve got a few points below to help you find them.